Product Description

As consumers become more resistant to direct sales appeals, white papers; promotional pieces in the guise of informational articles or reports; are increasingly alluring. And this exciting new book is the first to tell marketers across industry how to create effective white papers using a variety of media, all the while building successful marketing campaigns to create interest, generate leads, build relationships, and ultimately drive sales. Offering insight into the "Edu-Marketing" revolution, the book explains the dynamics of white paper marketing and why it works, equipping readers with the tools to create content, educate buyers, generate leads, and develop marketing plans using white papers; and measure the results. Packed with practical illustrations, the book includes more than a dozen cases from such industry heavyweights as IBM, Comfort Control, Home Depot, and Engineered Software. It also illustrates how white papers effectively fit into successful Integrated Marketing Communications efforts to speak with one voice, be where the prospect is, and help the prospect find you.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #299697 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

About the Author
Bob Bly is an independent copywriter and consultant specializing in business to business, high-tech, industrial, and direct marketing. He has authored more than 50 books and won several industry awards. His e-zine, Direct Response Letter, goes to 60,000 subscribers monthly.

Customer Reviews

Don't like it
Bob Bly is a wonderful person and a very good copywriter. But I don't like this book. It seems to go all over the place and yet no place. It really doesn't educate you on writing a white paper. Doesn't get into format or much else.

You can find much more by doing a search.

I know I'll get a lot of "not helpful" clicks. But that's okay. I gotta' tell it the way I see it. And, of course, it's only my opinion.

Highly Instructive and Eminently Practical

For those who are interested in understanding the potential value of white papers to business development and customer relationships, this book and Michael Stelzner's Writing White Papers are the most valuable resources on the subject that I have as yet encountered. I strongly recommend both. Opinions vary as to the origin of the genre. Both Bly and Stelzner seem to agree that white papers can be traced back at least to early in the 20th century when what was then referred to as a "white book" consisted of informatiuon published by a national government. Perhaps the most famous is the "British White Paper of 1922" (also known as the "Churchill White Paper") in which the political conflict in Palestine is discussed. Interest in the commercial potentialities of white papers has increased rapidly and substantially in recent years and my own opinion is that exploration and fulfillment of those potentialities has only begun.

In this volume, Robert Bly explains with rigor and eloquence "how to generate more leads and sales with white papers, special reports, booklets, and CDs." As he notes, some of the most common white paper types include technology briefings, buyer's guides, planning and implementation guides, application guides, ROI guides, case studies, business implication discussions, strategy discussions, industry trend overviews, and issues analyses.

Here's a key point which both Bly and Stelzner stress repeatedly: A white paper must never be -- or be perceived to be -- an "infomercial" in print form. Yes, Bly observes in the Introduction that the white paper "serves the same sales purpose as a brochure...to sell or help sell a product or service...but reads and looks liker an article or other important piece of authoratative, objective information...But make no mistake, both the brochure and the white paper have the same ultimate objective: to sell or help sell your company's product or service."Nonetheless, the emphasis throughout his book is on selecting, producing, and distributing content which will be of interest and value to those who receive it. It may well "sell or help sell" but it never "sells"; rather, it makes a favorable impression on the recipient...even better, it can create a sense of gratitude to the provider.

When explaining "Your White Paper Marketing Plan" in Chapter 3, Bly suggests a ten-step process:

1. Determine Your Target Market
2. Problem Identification
3. Solution Identification
4. Content
5. Media
6. Tactics
7. Schedule
8. Budget
9. Objectives
10. Measurement

Keep in mind that Bly has written what he describes as a "marketing handbook." His focus is always on the ten-step process of creating or increasing demand for (whatever) by effective use of the white paper. His book, therefore, is an operations manual which provides cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective explanations and suggestions as to HOW to do that.

My own rather extensive experience with white papers (loosely defined) is that they are most effective, indeed essential to the cultivation rather than the solicitation process. But to repeat, the content must have inherent value and be directly responsive to whatever problem, question, or interest the recipient has identified...or is at least likely to have. That is why it is so important to determine the appropriate target market. When hand-presented and especially when mailed, the given item must attract immediate interest and then sustain it with information which is perceived to be (by the recipient) not only relevant but valuable.

Here's an acid test for use of white papers as a hand-out at a tradeshow booth: How many are kept by recipients and taken with them rather than tossed into a wastebasket, probably in a hotel room?

Of special interest to me were the ten case studies in Chapter 10, "Measuring and Improving Your Results." Each demonstrates several of the core principles which Bly had explained earlier in his book. Practical applications in real-world situations are always instructive. Readers will also appreciate the provision of "Resources" in Appendix A and "Model Documents" in Appendix B.

Initially, I said that I highly recommend both this book and Michael Stelzner's Writing White Papers. That's true. I also strongly suggest that both be purchased and then carefully read. True, Bly and Stelzner cover much of the same ground but there are significant differences between their two books and that is highly beneficial because, as Bly's ten-step process correctly indicates, there are important issues to consider. Absorbing and digesting the material in both books will assist substantially the process by which important decisions are made.

Robert Bly encourages those who read this book to check out a wealth of resources available at http://www.bly.com/newsite/home.html.

Great on White Papers and Loaded with Tips and Lists
Bob Bly is a great copywriter. He's also a great writer about copywriting. There are lots of great copywriters who've written books on how to ply their trade. Bob Bly is the best explainer among them.

That's why I picked up a copy of The White Paper Marketing Handbook. I was already a fan of Bob's work. And, I was thinking about offering a White Paper or Special Report to help market my book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership.

I had high expectations. The White Paper Marketing Handbook met those in full. It also gave me a lot more.

I expected and got a good working definition of a "white paper" and a description of how white paper marketing works. I also got a list of different forms that "white papers" can take.

I expected and got tips on how to plan a white paper. I also picked up a wonderful tool, that Bob calls the "Content Matrix" that will help me with other aspects of my marketing.

There are also numerous checklists in this book that may not be apparent from the Table of Contents. Page 43, for example, offers up the BDF formula for analyzing your prospects. On page 69 is a detailed list of questions to ask to analyze your product.

There's also a wealth of other information and advice. You'll learn how to craft compelling titles for your white paper and how to make your presentation graphically effective. And there's material on how to generate leads and how to tie your white paper into your marketing plan.

I'm already making my second pass through the book to make sure everything I learn gets translated into my own white paper marketing.

You'll get value out of this book if you, like me, are an experienced business person who does most of your own marketing work. You'll get value if you work for a company that's thinking about using white papers to market your product or service. This book has so much good basic material on marketing and copy writing that you'll get value from that, too.